Historic Preservation

Anthony Tung to be Keynote Speaker at AZ Historic Preservation Conference 2011

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[Source:  PRLog (Press Release)]

© Janet Vicario

Renowned author and international historian Anthony Tung will be a featured speaker during “Valuing Historic Perspectives,” the Ninth Annual Historic Preservation Conference, to be held June 22-24, 2011 at the University Park Marriott Hotel near the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Author and urbanist Anthony M. Tung has been a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, an instructor on architectural history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a visiting professor on international urban preservation at MIT. He has lectured in Singapore, Madrid, Amsterdam, Istanbul,San Juan, Edinburgh, Athens, Mexico City, Vienna, Kyoto, and across North America—consulting on heritage conservation policy with officials in Toronto, Halifax, New York, and New Orleans.

His first book, entitled Preserving the World’s Great Cities:  The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis (hardcover: Clarkson Potter, 2001; softcover: Three Rivers Press, 2001) is a detailed socio-cultural portrait of preservation efforts in eighteen cities across the globe—described by Publisher’s Weekly as an “important contribution not only to the literature of urban studies and city planning but to architectural history and sociology,” by the Atlanta Journal Constitution as “a remarkable chronicle of human spirit and architectural heritage,” by Architectural Record On-Line as “an epic, or rather, 18 little epics packed into one important book,” and by The Washington Post, as “a landmark of creative urbanism . . . Tung’s breath of vision and rapid-fire insights recall Lewis Mumford at his best.” (more here)

“Valuing Historic Perspectives” held jointly by Arizona State Parks, the State Historic Preservation Office, Main Street / Department of Commerce, non-profit Arizona Preservation Foundation, the Arizona Historical Society, and the Arizona Archaeological Council will bring together more than 300 people and organizations interested in current topics and program management best practices in preservation, drawn primarily from architectural, archaeological, historical research, consulting, real estate development, construction, general contracting, Tribal, legal, and state and local government organizations from across the Southwest.

Sessions at the 2011 Conference will include:  Folk Baroque: the Art & Architecture of San Xavier del Bac – National Historic Landmark, built 1783-1797; Preserving the History of Arizona and the West in the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives; Introduction to Prehistoric Analyses in Arizona; Doing the Business of Archaeology in Arizona: Integrating AZSITE, the State Historic Preservation Act and the Arizona Antiquities Act into Arizona Archaeology; and The Basics of Historical Period Artifact Identification.

“Valuing Historic Perspectives” will be based out of the University Park Marriott Hotel, just outside the campus of the University of Arizona.  Registration information is available online at www.azpreservation.com. Conference registration begins at $225 per person; member and early registration and professional affiliation discounts are available.  Full-time undergraduate and graduate student rates are available.

Conference underwriters include: Arizona Department of Commerce; the National Park Service; the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Arizona State Parks; the City of Tucson; Desert Archaeology, Inc.; Statistical Research, Inc.; Archaeological Consulting Services; the Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation; the Arizona Historical Society; Local First Arizona; HistoricStreetscapes; Baker Custom Photo; the Arizona Archaeological Council; and the Arizona State Museum.  More information about Arizona Preservation Foundation, its goals and mission, is available at www.azpreservation.org.

Council to act on contracts to reopen McFarland Park

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[Source: Mark Cowling, Tri-Valley Central.com] – Agreements are near which will allow the town to move its visitor center to McFarland State Park, reopening the county’s first courthouse to visitors after more than a year, and making all four corners of a key historic intersection open for business again for the first time in over 30 years.

The Florence Main Street Program, which operates the visitor center under contract with the town, will move the visitor center to McFarland State Park, perhaps next month. Main Street will further work with Arizona State Parks and their archivist to bring displays and exhibits to the building.

New riverfront plaza opens window into history of Yuma Crossing

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[Source: Yuma Visitors Bureau] – The “ghost train” arrived in Yuma this summer with the grand opening of Pivot Point Interpretative Plaza by Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.

 This outdoor exhibit area is located on the site where the first railroad train entered Arizona in 1877 and features as its centerpiece a restored 1907 Baldwin steam locomotive.  But the plaza also incorporates some 21st century technology: a surround-sound audio system that re-creates the arrival of a steam locomotive at the old Southern Pacific Hotel – a.k.a. the “ghost train” – and a nightly laser display that shows where the tracks of the original rail bridge crossed the Colorado River. [to read the full article click here].

State Parks: Lifeblood of Rural Communities

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[Source: Mary King, Sedona.biz] – Over a hundred people attended the meeting at the Sedona Library on September 30th to learn about the fate of the state parks, which the legislature has voted to close. The attendees were treated to a 13 minute film entitled The Future of Our State Parks. It showcased the beauty of our state and local parks including Red Rock, Dead Horse Ranch, Slide Rock and Jerome (which has been closed) State Parks and Fort Verde Historic Park.

After that, a panel that included Chip Davis, Park Supervisor for Yavapai County; legislator Sandy Bahr; Former State Senator Tom O’Halleran; and Sedona Mayor Rob Adams discussed the many aspects of the issue. Missing was Republican Tobin, who declined the invitation to attend.

Economic Issues Outshone Environmental Concerns:
The park closings have been cast by the legislature as an issue that appeals to only liberal environmentalists. It has been framed as a necessary cost-cutting measure to be attractive to conservatives. However, some say revenues lost to the state and rural communities will be far greater than the dollars saved by the demise of these recreational/historical areas:

» 8 million dollars would be saved by closing the parks.
» 260 million in tourist dollars could be lost by closing the parks that includes the money spent by park visitors on hotels, restaurants, gas, gift shops, etc.
» 3,347 jobs in rural communities would be gone.

Privatization:
Chip Davis summed up the idea of privatization when he said, “In 1957, Arizona was the last state to establish a state park system. Let’s not be the first state to dismantle our state park system.”  One speaker stated that he was sure that the closing of the state parks was a calculated move on the Governor’s part towards privatization.

Privatization is a complex issue, which could entail having the Arizona State Park System run by an out-of-state entity. It could mean expanding the use of the park by private vendors that would offer services that the park service would want to contract out like concession stands, thereby using non-state funds to operate the park system.

Initiatives to Save the Parks:
It was clear that the members had given a lot of thought to ways to create a permanent funding source for the future. Mayor Rob Adams stated that Sedona could not afford to fund their parks next year. He had consulted with an event planner to see what type of revenues could be had if an outdoor event like a wedding was held at Red Rock State Park (without infringing on the environment). The event planner estimated that one event could yield a hundred thousand dollars.

Another speaker said, compared to neighboring states like New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, we get very little revenues from our mineral resource-copper. The copper is owned by the citizens of Arizona. Likewise, these neighboring states put much more money into their state park system.

Verde Valley Has the Most State Parks:
This region has the most to lose with the closing of the parks. We have lost Jerome State Park. 80% of Arizonians are urban dwellers, and their cities pay for their local parks. Scottsdale pays over two hundred dollars per person per year to fund their local parks. Our state parks and the tourism it generates is our lifeblood, and as a region we need to let the legislature and the Governor to know our concerns, especially in an election year.